“Quit slouching!” “Be you Beginners Guide To Massage Therapy In Bakersfield sit up straight!” It is more than likely that these admonishing words had come from your mother’s mouth at least once when we were growing up. Even with our mothers constantly reminding us to stand up straight and have good posture growing up, it is something that many people don’t, or forget to, take seriously.

Maintaining good posture is essential to your overall health and well-being. In fact, what many people don’t realize, having good posture is just as important as eating a healthy diet, getting enough exercise, and sleeping comfortably. Good posture will help better enable the body to perform everyday tasks with more energy and endurance, all while fighting off fatigue. Posture can have a direct effect on our overall physical health. At Core Chiropractic and Wellness, we understand that importance of good posture and how it can help improve our performance of day-to-day activities, as well as our overall health and well-being. We strive to help our patients fix, improve, and maintain their posture. Be sure to read on to find out why!

Importance of maintaining good posture

Basically, posture is the position that we hold our bodies in while sitting, standing, or lying down. Having good posture helps ensure that the entire body is properly aligned, while the tension in the ligaments and muscles are properly distributed. In addition, maintaining good posture is a way to keep body parts in their proper positions with minimal stress and more comfort. Maintaining a good posture will:

Allows muscles to correspond in a more effective and efficient manner, ensuring that the body uses less energy, which helps reduce muscle fatigue and soreness.

Assists in preventing muscle and back pain, both of which are signs of a body with poor posture. Thus, eliminating the other multiple aches and pains that are associated with these symptoms

Help hold spinal joints in their proper place, a critical factor in maintaining good posture. Having aligned spinal joints, paired with less stress on the ligaments, can significantly reduce the potential of injury.

Minimizes the wearing of joints by keeping them in the proper alignment. Ensuring that our muscles are in their proper places, used correctly, and show no signs of abnormal wearing, the risk chronic conditions, such as arthritis, is significantly reduced.

How to maintain good posture

Maintaining good posture should not be looked at as a major mental change or constant bother. In fact, what many people do not realize is that our bodies are designed to unconsciously maintain a normal posture through certain muscles. However, just because this happens does not mean that we should not be aware of our posture. Check out some tips that will help you maintain good posture while sitting, lying down, or standing.

Sitting. When sitting, you should ensure that your feet are on the floor, or on another surface, rather than freely hanging. In addition, your knees should be kept at or below hip level, your shoulders should be relaxed, forearms should be in parallel to the ground, and your entire back should have support.

Lying down. Many people struggle with finding a sleeping position that is beneficial for maintaining good posture, but it is possible if done correctly. The biggest secret to having good posture while lying down is ensuring that your head is supported by a pillow at an elevated position to the rest of the body. This not only helps maintain posture, but it also helps the circulation of blood flow.

Standing. When standing, you should ensure that your weight is carried to the bottom of your feet, placing them four to five inches apart. Instead of pushing your stomach out, tuck it in, having your arms and hands comfortably and naturally hanging at the sides of your body. All of which should be done will keeping a straightened and heightened structure.

The benefits of having good posture

Developing and maintaining a posture that is beneficial can be a difficult task that requires a lot of work and time to achieve. However, the benefits of a good posture can be well worth the time and effort, here’s why.

Improved breathing

Maintaining a good posture naturally enables you to breathe easier and properly. Sitting in a hunched position can cramp your airways, making it harder to breathe naturally. In addition, having a curved back will put your ribcage in an unnatural and uncomfortable position, putting extra pressure on your lungs.

Helps muscles and joints

Maintaining good posture will help keep joints and bones in proper alignment, ensuring that the muscles in our bodies are used correctly. Good posture will also decrease the wearing of joints, which could potentially lead to joint pain or conditions — like arthritis — and it will minimize the amount of stress on the body’s ligaments, which can reduce the chances of injury. Maintaining a good posture will allow muscles to work more efficiently and effectively, enabling the body to utilize less energy, therefore relieving muscle fatigue and tension.

Improved appearance

Having bad posture can negatively affect one’s appearance. Bad posture will cause the shoulder to slump, which can create an appearance of sadness or lack of confidence. In addition, a bent back can create an illusion of a heavier appearance, while an arched neck can make you appear sloppy and run-down. Keeping a good posture will not only create an appearance of confidence, it will also make you look younger, taller, and even slimmer!

Reduced depression and fatigue

Studies have shown that changing your posture can play an important role in altering emotions and energy levels. Believe it or not, posture actually has measurable effects on our energy levels, optimism, and mood. This is ultimately due to posture having a direct effect on your state of mind. When we are happy, our postures tend to be more straight and open, and when we are sad, our posture is tighter, slumped, and crooked. A change in posture can have a reflect on our state-of-mind, so next time you are feeling sad or down, straighten up your posture and see if your mood improves!

Enhanced circulation and digestion

Maintaining proper posture will enable the body’s internal organs in the abdomen to assume their natural position without any extreme pressure. This can help prevent issues like constipation, acid reflux, or hernias. When our posture is slouched, it can interrupt the normal functioning and flow of our digestive system.

As you can see, sitting, standing, and lying down with proper postural alignment will enable you to work more effectively with less pain, fatigue, and strain on your body’s muscles, ligaments, and overall functions.

Want to develop and maintain good posture?

If you have been experiencing pain and discomfort in your back, neck, or shoulders it could be a result of bad posture. When this happens, you may need professional help to develop and maintain good posture, and the doctors at Core Chiropractic and Wellness can help! Our Bakersfield chiropractors can examine your current posture and use spinal adjustments to put your spine in proper alignment. To learn more about how our gentle, natural, and safe chiropractic care in Bakersfield can help, or to receive a free consultation, contact our team today!